AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The Office for Studies, Research, and Scholarship of the Cultural and Scientific Affairs Department at the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, in cooperation with ABNA News Agency, the Institute for Short-Term Training and Study Opportunities at Al-Mustafa International University, and the University of Religions and Denominations, held an academic forum in Qom titled, “Fatemi Lifestyle: ‘First the Neighbor, Then the House’ and the Ethics of Altruism in Our Time.” The session, part of a series introducing Shiites and AhlulBayt (a.s.) lifestyle principles, examined the Fatemi model as a framework for addressing daily challenges faced by Shiite families.
Dr. Davood Safa, the scientific secretary of the forum, congratulated participants on the birth anniversary of Lady Fatimah (a.s.) and stated that the family is the core institution shaping personal and social identity. However, he noted that today’s families are encountering multidimensional, profound, complex, and at times contradictory transformations.
Safa highlighted the “third model of the Muslim woman,” presented by the Supreme Leader and grounded in the Fatemi lifestyle and the Holy Quran, as a principal solution. He described this model as a multidimensional structure of religious-revolutionary identity encompassing three domains: spiritual growth and self-purification (individual), strengthening the family institution (familial), and purposeful, active participation (social).
He added that, in contrast to feminist perspectives that center on gender inequality, Islamic discourse emphasizes gender justice, which does not equate to gender equality or similarity.
Dr. Mohammad Javedan, a faculty member at the University of Religions and Denominations, revisited the moral conduct of Lady Fatimah (a.s.) through the lens of contemporary practical ethics. He described the well-known saying of Lady Fatemeh (a.s.), “the neighbor, then the house,” as a comprehensive ethical and practical doctrine in which others are prioritized over oneself. Citing a narration from Imam Hassan (a.s.) affirming that his mother, Lady Fatimah (a.s.), would put the believers before herself in her nightly supplications, he characterized this as an example of divine altruism that reflects a higher moral station than ordinary prosocial ethics.
He further referred to another hadith from the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h), which Lady Fatimah (a.s.) considered to hold a value comparable to Imam Hassan (a.s.) and Imam Hussain (a.s.). In this narration, the Prophet (p.b.u.h) stated, “A believer is not one whose neighbor is not safe from his harm.” Javaden clarified that such ethics are not merely secular; rather, their divine and religious dimension creates an inner sense of obligation that sustains moral action and aligns it with spiritual devotion.
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